Sports Capital Grant Now Open for Applications

SPORTS CAPITAL GRANT OPEN IN JANUARY

See the announcement from the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross TD, and the Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD regarding the 2017 Sports Capital Programme, which are now open for applications from the 23rd January. All Squash clubs needing some refurbishment should apply for funds which will really improve your facilities and help in attracting new members and driving participation. See below the story of Thurles Squash Club and how they used a Sports Capital Grant to transform their club this year.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross TD, and the Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD, are pleased to announce that the 2017 Sports Capital Programme will be open for applications on 23 January next. Applications are being sought from sports clubs, voluntary and community groups, national governing bodies of sport and local authorities.  Third level colleges, Education and Training Boards and schools may only apply for funding jointly with sports clubs. Applications can be made from 9am on Monday 23 January onwww.sportscapitalprogramme.ie. Closing dates: THE CLOSING DATE FOR REGISTRATION IS 5PM FRIDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2017. GIVEN THAT YOU ARE ALREADY REGISTERED YOU WILL ONLY NEED TO REGISTER AGAIN IF YOU WISH TO DO SO FOR A DIFFERENT ORGANISATION. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REGISTER YOUR CURRENT ORGANISATION AGAIN. THE CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMITTING APPLICATIONS IS 5PM ON FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2017.

Information

The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in partnership with Local Sports Partnerships is organising a series of workshops on How to make an application under the 2017 Sports Capital Programme.  For information on the seminars and to make a booking click on the links in the table below.

Once you have made a booking you will receive a booking confirmation email and you should bring this with you to the event.

Background

The Sports Capital Programme (SCP) is operated by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and provides grants to assist in the development or refurbishment of sports facilities and the provision of sports equipment.

The Programme aims to foster an integrated and planned approach to developing sports and physical recreation facilities throughout the country. In particular, its stated objectives are to:

• Assist voluntary and community organisations, national governing bodies (NGBs) of sport, local authorities and Education and Training Boards and schools to develop high quality, accessible, safe, well-designed, sustainable facilities in appropriate locations and to provide appropriate equipment to help maximise participation in sport and physical recreation.
• Prioritise the needs of disadvantaged areas in the provision of sports facilities.
• Encourage the sharing of local, regional and national sports facilities by clubs, community organisations and national governing bodies of sport.

Grants are available to sports clubs, voluntary and community groups, national governing bodies of sport and local authorities.  Third level colleges, Education and Training Boards (ETBs) and schools may only apply for funding jointly with sports clubs or organisations.

All applications must be made online at www.sportscapitalprogramme.ie

The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 24 February

For more information on the Programme including a YouTube guide to application process and a sample application form visit www.sportscapitalprogramme.ie

STORY OF THURLES SC

A Sports Capital Grant can help transform your squash club.  This is the story of Thurles Squash Club’s experience applying for a Sports Capital Grant last year.

Our two courts were originally constructed in 1979.  During the past thirty-five years we’ve carried out standard maintenance such as re-plastering of walls, replacement of fluorescent tubes, sanding of floors etc. However, and in truth, the facility was most definitely showing its age.

• The original floorboards were well past their “sell by” date and displaying all the wear you would expect from thirty-five years of daily use;
• The walls were showing a lot of wear from years of being pounded by squash balls and scraped by rackets.
• The legacy court lighting was just about functional but looked dull and completely uninviting;
• Members had to drive to the club to book courts (which are situated about 2Kms from the town centre);
• The courts were regarded by visiting players as “cold”, with the installed blow heaters creating seriously wet walls any time the temperature dropped outside.

The club committee sat down and put in place an ambitious plan to completely upgrade our club facility. We essentially wanted Thurles to be one of the best two-court facilities in the country and we wanted courts that people would actually want to come out and play on.

To achieve this we needed to remedy all the problems outlined above.

We decided to use the opportunity to take out the solid back wall in court 1 and replace it with a full glass back instead, to give much greater visibility and allow full court viewing.

In February of 2015 we applied to The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport for a capital grant under its 2015 Sports Capital Programme to assist with our upgrade. We prepared and submitted a goodapplication with the help of a local energy and building contractor (BCD Energy: http://bcdenergy.ie ) – this was key to ensuring that the application was meeting all the main requirements for the grant and would pass seamlessly through the review process. Please ensure you give accurate information in your grant application.

In January of 2016 we were thrilled to learn we had successfully secured €35,000 in funding for our planned renovations!

We had already managed to raise €15,000 from a variety of club fundraising events which was then added to the €35,000 to give us a substantial €50,000 total (note; it is necessary to have 15% of the sum being sought in your account before making the initial application).

Appropriate funds now at hand, work commenced in August 2016; the project was expertly managed by Thomas Campion of BCD Energy limited.  Thomas is a committed member of Thurles Squash Club and put a huge amount of personal energy into the programme.  The project was completed within just 3 weeks, all within budget and fully on time for the start of the 2016 / 2017 squash season.

We were overwhelmed by the results:

• Brand new Junckers floor in both courts;
• Portions of the walls re-plastered (the existing plaster was good in most of the wall areas) and all walls repainted;
• Brand new LED lighting installed in both courts that literally bring daylight levels of light to the 2 courts without any of the usual resulting glare. When the lights are powered up they activate instantly and are up to full brightness immediately with a real “WOW” factor. They are also considerably more economical to operate than fluorescent lighting (a fraction of the running costs) and will last much longer without the need to replace;
• Online court booking system for 24/7 booking without the need to visit the courts;
• New IR panel heaters installed (just one 4.5kw heater for each court is sufficent) to ensure hot courts and longer rallies with a faster ball;
• The new glass wall behind court 1 is a complete showstopper and we regularly see people stopping to watch the squash game in progress. It has really driven awareness of the sport within the golf club.

No matter what you have planned for your club in 2017, I would strongly urge you to consider making an application for capital grant funding under this scheme. Our upgrade has literally transformed Thurles Squash and makes it a much easier “sell” to prospective new members, who now see a vibrant facility and a thriving club. We are confident it will assist us in growing our numbers into the future and are targeting a base of 200 members by the end of 2018, a major increase on club numbers a couple of years ago.

Tips:

• Get your plans and application in sooner rather than later
• Ensure all required documentation is in place, is up-to-date and signed and dated correctly.
• The grant will cover 85% of the overall cost. Ensure you have the 15% in place from your own resources.

Any club seeking advice on making an application for a Sports Capital Grant contact: [email protected]